First week buck harvest up in Morgan, down in WV

Hunters in Morgan County took more bucks in the first week of this year’s firearm season than last.

Chris Ryan, wildlife manager for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, released the numbers late last week.

From the opening of the season on Monday, November 20 through Sunday, November 26, hunters in Morgan County took 431 bucks. That’s up 13% from 2016, when 375 bucks were checked in during the same week.

During that same week, hunters checked 239 antlerless deer, down from 244 in 2016 during the first week.

Statewide, the buck harvest was down in the first week from last year.

Across West Virginia, hunters took 39,045 bucks during the first week. In 2016, they took 41,136. The same drop was seen in antlerless hunting, with 16,830 antlerless deer checked in this year during the first week, down from 17,596 for the same timeframe in 2016.

Ryan said, just as predicted, deer numbers are down this year because of heavy mast in the forests. Because deer have easy access to more food, they are more spread out and harder to hunt, Ryan said.

The firearms season ran through last Saturday, December 2. Final harvest numbers will be available when the checking period closes and state officials validate the numbers.

Muzzleloader season in

West Virginia’s 2017 muzzleloader deer season opened December 4 and will offer hunters the challenge of using firearm technology from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The muzzleloader season will run through December 9.

For more information, hunters should read the 2017-2018 West Virginia Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary or go to the DNR website at www.wvdnr.gov.